Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park

Author: Kaye L. Brubaker

Register Now for NatureCity Forum 2019

“Building Community through Green Infrastructure”

March 26, 2019

Brookside Gardens, Wheaton Maryland

Come spend a day exploring the best practices and collaborations that are addressing urban flooding, health, and engagement with nature. Hear local and national examples of green infrastructure projects, innovative tools, and community engagement.

Tour the natural beauty of Brookside Gardens and learn about their innovative green infrastructure parking garden.

USGS has received approval to proceed with the February 15 deadline for submitting 104g research pre-proposals to the State Institutes (Maryland Water Resources Research Center for Maryland institutions). The final RFP is not yet available on grants.gov. Please use the linked draft RFP as a guide for assembling your pre-proposal. Note that the pre-proposals are not submitted to grants.gov; they are collected by the State Institutes. Please email your pre-proposal to Dr. Kaye Brubaker (kbru<“at”>umd.edu) before 5:00 p.m. EST on February 15, 2019, with a subject line clearly identifying your message as a 104(g) pre-proposal.

Note: Pre-proposals do not include detailed budget information; therefore, they do not need to be endorsed/executed by the PI’s Office of Research/Sponsored Programs*. You are asked to provide estimated budget, matching funds, and project duration.

*Note: Although the MWRRC does not require it at this stage, some institutions require review of the pre-proposal by their Office of Research/Sponsored Programs — in particular, to authorize matching funds. Each PI should check with their respective Office.

It is expected that the total MWRRC contribution will be $16,000 to $35,000. Non-federal matching funds are required in the ratio of 2:1 matching:MWRRC. Indirect costs are not allowed on the project, but waived indirect costs can be used as matching funds. Prospective PIs are encouraged to contact the Center director if they have questions about matching funds.

Proposals must be fully executed by the institutional office of research. All proposals must be filed by January 7, 2019, 11:59 p.m. Those that are selected for funding by the MWRRC will be forwarded to the USGS.

Research proposals are to be submitted by email to the Center Director, Dr. Kaye Brubaker, kbru<at>umd.edu. Include “2019 104(b)” in the subject line. Instructions for proposal preparation are available in PDF form (Maryland 2019 104(b) RFP). Worksheet templates are available in MS Word format

Seed Grants

Seed grants range from $3,000 to $6,000. This program solicits proposals aimed at developing exploratory projects, with the deliverable being a major proposal for submission to another agency. Funds are to be used for preliminary experiments or for faculty release time.

Non-federal matching funds are required in the ratio of 2:1 matching:MWRRC. Indirect costs are not allowed on the project, but waived indirect costs can be used as matching funds. Proposals must be fully executed by the institutional office of research. All proposals must be filed by January 7, 2019, 11:59 p.m. Those that are selected for funding by the MWRRC will be forwarded to the USGS.

Seed grant proposals are to be submitted by email to the Center Director, Dr. Kaye Brubaker, kbru<at>umd.edu. Include “2019 104(b)” in the subject line. Instructions for proposal preparation, tailored to the MWRRC, are available in PDF form (Maryland 2019 104(b) RFP). The budget and budget explanation appendices are available as worksheets/templates in MS Word format

Summer Graduate Fellowships

A major mission of the Water Resources Research Institutes and Centers is to help develop the new generation of water experts and leaders. The MWRRC is interested in interacting with a broad spectrum of students conducting research relevant to the State’s water resources. As a step toward accomplishing this goal, the Center accepts proposals for Graduate Research Fellowships of $6,000 each for Summer 2018. All areas related to water resources research will be considered. The student’s advisor is expected to arrange matching funds (2:1 matching:MWRRC) for the fellowship awards. Normally, the fellowship is paid directly to the student, and fringe benefits are not included; if the PI wishes to pay fringe benefits, they may be included as match. Awards are made competitively.

RFP Background

The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources will be releasing a request for proposals for matching grants to support research on the topics of:

Improving and enhancing the nation’s water supply, including evaluation of innovative approaches to water treatment, infrastructure design, retrofitting, maintenance, management, and replacement; exploration and advancement of our understanding of changes in the quantity.

Quality of water resources in response to a changing climate, population shifts, and land use changes; development of methods for better estimation of water supply, both surface and groundwater, including estimation of the physical supply and of the economic supply of water; and development and evaluation of processes and governance mechanisms for integrated surface/groundwater management.

The evaluation and assessment of conservation practices.

Any investigator at an accredited institution of higher learning in the United States is eligible to apply for a grant through a Water Research Institute or Center established under the provisions of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/institutes.html). Proposals involving substantial collaboration between the USGS and university scientists are encouraged. Proposals may be for projects of 1 to 3 years in duration and may request up to $250,000 in federal funds. Successful applicants must match each dollar of the federal grant with one dollar from non-federal sources.

Pre-proposals must be submitted to your State Institute or Center by 5:00 pm, Eastern Time, February 15, 2019. Invited full proposals to the National Competitive Grants Program must be submitted to the grants.gov internet site at http://www.grants.gov not later than 5:00 pm Eastern Time, May 31, 2019, by the university at which the Institute or Center is located. Funds have not yet been appropriated for this program for FY2019. The Government’s obligation under this program is contingent upon the availability of funds.

The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources requests pre-proposals for matching grants under section 104(g) of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-242), as amended by Public Laws 101-397, 104-147, 106-374, and 109-471. The USGS Request For Proposals (RFP) is linked below.

The goal of this grant program is to support research on the topic of improving and enhancing the nation’s water supply, including:

evaluation of innovative approaches to water treatment, infrastructure design, retrofitting, maintenance, management, and replacement; exploration and advancement of our understanding of changes in the quantity and quality of water resources in response to a changing climate, population shifts, and land use changes;

development of methods for better estimation of water supply, both surface and groundwater, including estimation of the physical supply and of the economic supply of water;

development and evaluation of processes and governance mechanisms for integrated surface/ground water management; and

the evaluation and assessment of conservation practices.

Any investigator at an accredited institution of higher learning in the United States is eligible to apply for a grant through a Water Research Institute or Center established under the provisions of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended (http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/institutes.html). Proposals involving substantial collaboration between the USGS and university scientists are encouraged. Proposals may be for projects of 1 to 3 years in duration and may request up to $250,000 in federal funds. Successful applicants must match each dollar of the federal grant with one dollar from non-federal sources.

The USGS has published the RFP for Fiscal Year 2018 funding under Section 104(b) of the Water Resources Research Act.

Investigators from any Maryland institution of higher education are eligible to apply.

The Maryland version of the RFP is linked below. For investigators’ use in proposal preparation, the RFP attachments are also provided in MS Word format (the information included in these pages must be entered directly into the web site before the proposal is submitted).

It is expected that the total MWRRC contribution will be $16,000 to $35,000. Non-federal matching funds are required in the ratio of 2:1 Matching:MWRRC. Indirect costs are not allowed on the project, but waived indirect costs can be used as matching funds. Prospective PIs are encouraged to contact the Center director if they have questions about matching funds.

These proposals must be fully executed by the institutional office of research. All proposals must be filed on the NIWR web site (www.niwr.net) by December 22, 2017, 11:59 p.m. Those that are selected for funding by the MWRRC will be forwarded to the USGS.

Research proposals are submitted electronically on the NIWR website. Instructions for proposal preparation, tailored to the MWRRC, are available in PDF form (Maryland RFP FY2018). Worksheet templates are available in MS Word format.

Seed Grants

Seed grants range from $3,000 to $6,000. This program solicits proposals aimed at developing exploratory projects, with the deliverable being a major proposal for submission to another agency. Funds are to be used for preliminary experiments or for faculty release time.

Non-federal matching funds are required in the ratio of 2:1 Matching:MWRRC. Indirect costs are not allowed on the project, but waived indirect costs can be used as matching funds. These proposals must be fully executed by the institutional office of research. All proposals must be filed on the NIWR web site (www.niwr.net) by December 22, 2017, 11:59 p.m. Those that are selected for funding by the MWRRC will be forwarded to the USGS.

Research proposals are submitted electronically on the NIWR website. Instructions for proposal preparation, tailored to the MWRRC, are available in PDF form (Maryland RFP FY2018). Worksheet templates are available in MS Word format.

Summer Graduate Fellowships

The MWRRC is interested in interacting with a broad spectrum of students conducting research relevant to the State’s water resources. As a step toward accomplishing this goal, the Center accepts proposals for Graduate Research Fellowships of $6,000 each for Summer 2018. All areas related to water resources research will be considered. Student Advisors are expected to arrange matching funds (2:1 Matching:MWRRC) for the fellowship awards. Normally, the fellowship is paid directly to the student, and fringe benefits are not included. Awards are made competitively.

The Maryland Water Monitoring Council will hold its 23rd Annual Conference at the Maritime Institute, North Linthicum, Maryland, on Friday, December 8, 2017. Registration will begin at 7:30 AM and the conference will adjourn at 4:30 PM. The conference will include a plenary session, six concurrent breakout sessions, posters and exhibitor tables, and the famous Maritime Institute all-you-can-eat buffet lunch. You’ll also have plenty of time to network and catch up with old friends and colleagues during the long breaks and the post-meeting social (location TBA).

The challenges of restoring and protecting our aquatic resources are daunting. Stressors related to climate change and population growth will require us to adapt as we move further into the 21st Century. But there are reasons to be optimistic. Enhanced implementation of sound science, supported by robust water monitoring will undoubtedly be essential to ensure healthy aquatic ecosystems in the future. With such challenges in mind, he theme of the 2017 MWMC conference isManaging Water Quality in a Changing World. Concurrent sessions will focus on these challenges and our need to adapt to them. These sessions include Climate Change and Adaptation, Stream Restoration Biomonitoring, Leveraging Data Sources, New Monitoring Technologies, Agriculture and Water Quality, Citizen Science, and Communicating Progress and Successes. The morning plenary session will feature two presentations:

The Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin (ICPRB) is looking for a contractor with experience in water resources policy and law to conduct a review of the Potomac River Low Flow Allocation Agreement. This agreement, signed in 1978, provides for an allocation of Potomac River water among three water utilities in different jurisdictions when extreme low flows occur and includes an environmental flowby allocation. After 39 years and some changes in regulations and understanding of water resources, the governing parties of the agreement (Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and the United States) determined that a review is desirable to identify potential changes to the agreement.

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Header Photos (randomly selected):Wetlands along Little Creek. Photo by Hilary Stevens, Integration and Application Network, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary/)Spartina marsh and pine forest surround much of the Monie Bay component of the Chesapeake Bay, MD National Estuarine Research Reserve.Triadelphia Reservoir (on the Patuxent River near Brookville, Md.) Photo by Isabelle Doucet What Happens Outside, July 10, 2014, used with permission.Potomac River near Cobb Island, Nov. 2016. Photo by Simon Conrad.Limestone spring in Washington County, Oct. 2017 Photo by Kaye Brubaker.